Numbuh 9-Lives: Shadow Traveler
by Depthcharge2030
Summary: Story 12: Deaths of former Kids Next Door cadets reach the ears of the KND. Suspecting something more to these tragedies, Numbuh 9-Lives and her new team are called in to investigate. It's a game of cat and mouse. Catch the killer before it strikes again. But, when it becomes apparent that the former recruits were slain by a shadow, who's the cat? And who's the mouse?
**Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening. Welcome to the 12th story in my 'Legends Universe' series. This particular story is dedicated to a fellow author of ours. Her penname is Dynamite Girl, she quit FF years ago.** **Most of the characters featured here were created by her, actually.**

 **Numbuh 9-Lives was created by Dynamite Girl and is owned by Gamewizard2008.**

 **Story Theme: 'Monster' by Paramore**

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 **Legends Universe: Story 12**

 **Numbuh 9-Lives: Shadow Traveler**

 **28 October 2005**

 **McCleary Household**

It had been quite some time since that fateful day when Numbuh 9-Lives had ventured to Mt. Malladus. Once a Kids Next Door solo operative, sent on dangerous missions all by her lonesome, Violet McCleary emerged from the Teenager's Laboratory a changed person. For instance, she now had cat ears.

And that was fine by her.

"Scarlet, honey, I'm heading out to work!" Victoria shouted from down the hall.

Scarlet Vargas, found herself laying under her covers. She'd caught a bad case of the common cold as it were. "Got it!" Scarlet struggled to shout over her sore throat. "See you later Aunt Victoria!"

There was familiar sound of their front door opening, followed by series of footsteps belonging to Victoria. The door closed and Scarlet could hear the lock turning. The sick child let out a huff and glanced upward, spotting her blonde haired cousin with cat ears clinging to the ceiling. She had only started to get used to Violet's ears and the tail. But the claws? That would take some time.

"You can get down now." Scarlet muttered.

"Thanks, Scar." Violet smirked. She dropped down from the ceiling, landing on her feet. "So, you going to be cool here at home all by yourself? Or should I send someone over to check on you?"

"Thanks for the offer there Vi," Scarlet spoke, her voice nasally from mucous build up. "But, I'd rather you keep your KND friends away from me."

Violet shrugged. "S'cool." The cat girl then bounced over to the door and pulled it open. She dashed to her room one door over but kept the conversation going. "I just feel bad about leaving you here, y'know?"

Violet dashed into her room and ran too her sock cabinet. She threw on a pair, covering her clawed toes, giving them a nice flex to reacquaint herself with the fabric. She then ran over to her closet, grabbing a pair of converse sneakers and put them on as well.

Violet's cat ears perked up, she could hear Scarlet in the other room giving a congested scoff. "Oi! What's with the attitude?"

"If Auntie Victoria finds out you've been skipping school again, she'll be furious." Scarlet said a matter of fact.

Violet ran back over to Scarlet's room and poked her head in the doorway. "Well, it's not like mom'll know unless my bestest and most favoritest cousin keeps her mouth shut." Violet flashed her a toothy grin and then pulled her head out the doorway.

"I'm your only cousin…"

"Then you already know how much you mean to me." Violet called out as she ran back into her room. She reached into her closet, pulling out her trademark black jacket. She threw it over her white t-shirt and then began to button it up. She then reached back into the closet, and pulled out her standard issue Combat Satchel.

She pulled out the P.I.P.E.R. stashed in the left pouch and threw it in her jean's back pocket. She tossed on the Combat Satchel, making sure to connect the belts until they were nice and snug. Violet took a step back and admired her reflection in her closet mirror.

"Dressed for success." Violet smirked.

She then ran out of her room once more, closing the door behind her. "You want me to bring you back anything on my way home?" She called into Scarlet's room as she ran by.

"Chicken Soup if you can!" Scarlet replied. "Oh my goodness." She said as if having a sudden realization. "This is my life."

Violet retrieved the P.I.P.E.R. from her pocket and dialed in a number. "Numbuh 9-Lives reporting for duty." She spoke into the receiver. "Awaiting pick up, over."

Ever since getting the neat cat mutations, Violet had gone through a number of 2x4 aircraft. Lest assured, Global Command wasn't exactly pleased with the constant loss of KND property. For the time being, Violet was grounded. Good thing she met some rather nice friends inbetween then and now.

Violet locked the front door behind her and took a step onto her lawn. The loose grass from earlier mowing kicked up from a gust of wind, flying past Violet. The girl with cat ears switched off her P.I.P.E.R. and threw it back into the Combat Satchel. She lifted her head and took a gander upward.

Up above, hovering in place, was a KND S.C.A.M.P.E.R. "You called for pick up?" A Latin accented feminine voice called out over the light noise created by the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s engines. The 2x4 aircraft began its descent downward in front of the McCleary Household, right in front of Violet.

The 2x4 ship touched down on the ground and the door flew open. Violet hopped over her house's fence, giving her new found cat reflexes a good stretch and somersaulted into the ship.

"Yo, Kayla!" Violet called out to the girl with black curly hair behind the wheel of the ship.

"Ho, Violet!" The girl, Kayla, waved back over her shoulder. "Grab a seat and buckle in, Numbuh C4 wants us at the Tree House ASAP."

"What for?" Violet raised a curious brow as she took the co-pilot seat.

"I don't know myself." Kayla shrugged. "You know how those spy types are. Bunch of esquizofrénicos paranoides."

"A bunch of what?" Violet asked, begging for a translation.

"Paranoid Schizophrenics, Vi." Kayla chuckled as the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. ascended. "Paranoid Schizophrenics."

With that the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. kick off the ground, shooting North to Rhode Island.

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 **Dynamite Girl Elementary**

At Dynamite Girl Elementary, during recess, a young dark hared girl with a blue stripe running down the middle, stood amongst the shadows of the campus' main building, surveying the land before her. She was dressed in head to toe black. She wore a black under shirt, a black jacket, black shorts and black boots.

Behind her, up against the darkened side of building, the shadows began to twist and turn as dark blob began to emerge out of the side of the building. Out of the bulbous blob emerged a pair of pearly white teeth in the form of a smile.

The girl paid no mind to the manifestation. "Hold, not yet." She spoke aloud as her eyes zeroed in on a particular girl surrounded by friends hanging out by the hand ball court. "Give me a sec."

Out of the shadows the girl walked. She put her hands in her jacket pocket and kept a firm glare held onto that girl who was now laughing with her friends.

"…Is that Danika…?" A voice belonging to some boy on the monkey bars spoke aloud, catching sight of the darkly dressed girl.

"Oh gosh that's Danika…" Another kid said, sounding surprised.

"Whoa its Danika…"

"…Danika…"

The girl surrounded by all those others stood up at the mention of the girl's name. "Danika…" She gritted her teeth. Her frown turned to a smile as her friends joined her in standing.

"Cathy." The girl, Danika, spoke neutrally.

"Sup freak." The girl, Cathy, spoke tauntingly. "I thought you learned your lesson last time. Tread lightly or you might just fall and break something more than an arm this time."

"Heh." Danika smirked. At this level footing, no one could see the supernatural movements Danika's shadow was making. The shadow wasn't of the girl's form, but of the blob and its smile. The shadow slithered around on the ground like a snake, circling around where Cathy stood.

Cathy prepared to make some half rehearsed threat, only for her movements to feel restricted. She looked down, feeling something like rope tighten around her. Her eyes widened and she cried out as she found the blob and its wicked smile wrapping itself around her. It soon moved to her neck and tied itself around her like a noose.

"Silly Cathy." Danika smirked. "You can't push me around anymore." With a nod from Danika, the shadow squeezed until there was a sickening snap. The shadow released its hold of the girl and let her body fall limp on the black top.

The shadow seeped back into the ground, reattaching itself to Danika. The Goth girl cast a look over her shoulders and looked down on the kids and their horrified faces. "What're you looking at?" She scoffed before her shadow began to twist on the ground.

The shadow seemingly opened a dark hole in the floor. Danika began to sink downward but never broke eye contact with her peers. "You'd all better have learned from this." She spoke aloud in a warning tone. "Nobody screws with me." She spoke victoriously before disappearing into the ground.

The Goth girl and her shadow. Both were gone without a trace.

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 **I'm doing my best to hurry up with these, and for the most part I think I'm succeeding. Numbuh C4 Leviathan is being shortened to 4 chapters. This story will have 6 for sure. And Numbuh 322: The Night will have 4 as well.**

 **'Til next time, dear reader, later days!**


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